1 Sociology 3112-090 Social Statistics (online) Spring 2012 University of Utah http://uonline.utah.edu Instructor: Yiqing Yang, MBA Office: BEHS 424 On Campus Office Hours: by appointment Online “Office Hours”: Regular online “office hours” will be posted on the WebCT once the semester starts. Every effort will be made to respond to your questions posted or asked via WebCT within 24 to 48 hours. Email: via WebCT Course Summary1 This four-credit course fulfills the Quantitative Reasoning (QB) or Quantitative Intensive (QI) requirement of the University of Utah. It is designed for students to gain a basic understanding of common statistics widely applied in the analysis of social science data. Statistics is a set of tools and techniques researchers use to organize, summarize, and communicate information in the attempt to describe and draw conclusions about human conditions as well as the world around us. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics are main components of this course. Descriptive statistics will allow you to summarize and describe data. Inferential statistics will allow you to make estimates about a population (i.e. all the students in the U) based on a sample (i.e. 200 or 500 students in the U). The course also covers hypothesis testing and the basics of regression analysis. Course Objectives The student will become an educated consumer of statistical information, capable of applying what is learned in this course to deal with statistical information presented in daily life and in their academic field, as well as of analyzing and discerning the uses and abuses of statistics. More about Online Class This course is basically running on the platform of Blackboard Vista (also known as WebCT). Announcements, class notes, discussions, problem sets and lab assignments, quizzes, exams, grades, etc. are all posted there. Students are encouraged to post questions and thoughts there instead of sending the instructor a private email, so that other students may participate in discussion. 1 To create this syllabus, I drew from Dr. Vincent Kang Fu and other instructors who taught or are teaching the same course in the sociology department. Syllabi of similar courses from several other universities are also reviewed.2 Every student is expected to take an active role in this setting by finishing all assigned readings as scheduled, submitting quizzes/problem sets/lab assignments on a timely fashion, taking exams at allotted time periods and contributing to online discussions by asking questions and answering other students’ questions. For general information, check http://uonline.utah.edu/jsps/students/index.jsp. Course Text Frankfort-Nachmias, C. and A. Leon-Guerrero. 2011. Social Statistics for a Diverse Society. Sixth edition. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press. You will need your textbook the very first week since the problem sets come from the textbook so please order it as soon as possible. You can also get it from the U’s campus bookstore. You can use your personal computer to do the calculations, or you will need a scientific calculator (with square-root function) in your daily study. Course Requirement and Grading Grades in this class come from your performance on problem sets, lab assignments, quizzes, and exams. Grades are structured as follows: 3 On-line Exams 50% 3 On-line Quizzes 30% Problem sets and Labs 20% Total 100% Letter grades will be assigned on the following point scale: 94% and above A 90% through 93% A- 87% through 89% B+ 83% through 86% B 80% through 82% B- 77% through 79% C+ 73% through 76% C 70% through 72% C- 67% through 69% D+ 63% through 66% D 60% through 62% D- 59% and below F 1) Exams There will be three online exams throughout the semester. Each examination is3 cumulative, following each major section we cover. You will be allowed 2 hours for each exam and each exam must be taken within the allotted time period. These exams will consist mainly of problems that resemble the problems from the online quizzes. All your steps must be shown in solving the problems assigned and partial credit will be given accordingly. All exams will be open notes and open book, this complies with the real world rule (you will never be asked by your employer or your thesis’s committee to perform statistical calculation without referring to your notes and textbooks). While you may rely liberally on your notes and text for the exams, you must work on them independently. Do not consult any other person (see Academic Integrity and Plagiarism). Any missed examination will result in a score of 0 and make-up examinations will be given only in the case of a documented emergency. An alternate exam time can only be set up with permission and with official documentation provided the week PRIOR to the day of the exam. 2) Quizzes There will be three online quizzes posted on Blackboard/WebCT throughout the semester, designed to function as exam reviews. Working as a team for quizzes is encouraged. You can form a group to finish the quizzes together and submit one copy of your answers with all the names on it. Unlike exams, you can spend as much time as you like on these quizzes and submit them via WebCT by Midnight of Sunday. However, if you can treat the quizzes in the way you will treat the exams, you will get a feel of how the exam process would be like. Quizzes will be fully graded and the keys might also be posted on WebCT. 3) Problem Sets Practicing problem sets is essential to improve your statistical skills. Every week (with the only exception for the spring break) there will be a problem set for each chapter posted on the WebCT, together with the lab assignment mentioned later. The questions asked come directly from the textbook so you will need to have your textbook the very first week! Although problem sets might not be fully graded, the way in which your answer is derived would usually be checked. Problem sets are individual works and must be finished independently. 4) Labs Since almost all social science data are processed using various software packages on computer, lab sessions are designed for you to conceptualize the abstract ideas you are encountering in your